


a mighty ocean or a gentle kiss

by wordswithdragons



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Callum-centric (The Dragon Prince), F/M, Gen, Post season three, a surprising amount of ezran, discussions of mental health, im attached to this OC now so yes i will incorporate him into other works lol, mentions of callum & ezran, physician oc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26198104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordswithdragons/pseuds/wordswithdragons
Summary: The castle physician notes how much time Callum and Rayla spend together, and makes a strange recommendation.
Relationships: Callum & Ezran (The Dragon Prince), Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 178





	a mighty ocean or a gentle kiss

**Author's Note:**

> title is from "two" by sleeping at last

Physician Mavi had seen a lot, in his day. He'd treated the royal family for years, for one thing (was thoroughly glad he no longer had to treat Viren, traitor king that he was). He'd helped deliver babies for most of the servants in the castle and even the queen (successfully, he might add). His family had churned out physician after physician (for _at least_ three generations). Prince Ezran and Prince Callum had come to him with colds and skinned knees in their youth. He prescribed sleeping draughts when Crownguard Soren revealed the young king was having trouble sleeping. Mavi pretended it was just something he could see whenever Ezran walked into a room (and indeed, the boy seemed tired at ten and a half, but wore it extraordinarily—worriedly—well) when he'd handed the boy the phial.

After the war, Prince Callum remained a bit more of a mystery, even once he returned to the castle three months after his brother and with magic flowing through his veins. He'd stayed to study, and Mavi privately fretted over everything that could go wrong to a human body attached to an arcanum. Could the spark (that's what elven texts called it) die, or consume, its host? Or worse, what if some delusion had seized the teenager's brain and made him _think_ he was connected, when he actually was not? (Seeing him practice magic in the courtyard had put their fear to rest, but still. It had been a valid concern!)

The one thing Mavi wasn't _prepared_ for, however, despite having the _most_ preparation for it, was the elf. Prince— _King_ Ezran had answered, when Mavi had asked what he'd been eating for the past few weeks and how he'd simply survived out there in the wilderness, that Rayla had been a proficient hunter and gatherer. That she'd kept the boys warm and fed and taught them how to make fires and make the most of their coats in the cold, while Corvus overlooked Ezran's checkup (when any lost boy comes home, you give him a once-over; especially when said boy is your new monarch and arrived back home with no notice on the back of a dangerous banther).

Mavi had never thought he would have much in common with Opeli beyond professionalism, white robes, and serving the royal family, but it felt like they both had heart attacks when, after Opeli asked, "And who is Rayla?" Ezran had cheerfully replied, "A moonshadow elf."

But it was a new world, Mavi had found, and anything was possible. A moonshadow elf who had originally come to assassinate the king being invited back as a friend of one was his new reality. (Was it too soon to fret over different sorts of moonshadow sickness? What sort of political incident would transpire if she somehow died in his castle? _Did elves get common colds?_ )

Another surprise King Ezran forgot to mention, somehow, was that the prince and the elf were together, which Mavi only found out when King Ezran had gathered most of the castle's mainstay staff to welcome his brother back home and his friend to the palace properly, and they walked in holding hands. (Mavi managed not to faint, thank the gods, because it would _not_ have been a good impression as the castle physician otherwise.)

And in the days and weeks that followed, Mavi had to admit they were as sweet as they were unconventional. Both remaining members of the royal family were fiercely protective over her and any tolerance over acceptance was not seen as acceptable in their eyes, and Rayla was just as fond and watchful of them. She ate dinners with the boys, sparred with Soren in the courtyard with Callum sketching a nearby bench, and sometimes she coaxed Callum into the fray. Mavi could see it all from his tower. He'd found her and Prince Callum lounging in the library together, too, while the mage looked up runes and she begrudgingly studied human languages. She and Callum stood on either side of Ezran in his kingly duties, as friends and family and advisors. She and Prince Callum even shared a room for their own good, Opeli had revealed once over her morning tea with a dash of alcohol. Nightmares, she'd said and left it at that.

Teenagers couldn't end a war and come out unscathed, Mavi knew. Barius the baker's military days had, up until very recently, been long behind him, but sometimes he would come to Mavi for medicinal recommendations to deal with the symptoms that came out of battle.

And so, Mavi started listening and looking more closely.

Prince Callum was a bit more closed off when it came to talking about the war and their month full of adventure, and Mavi could tell it was from some mixture of lingering fear and leftover shame about some of his choices and how many times he'd likely almost lost his brother and the girl he loved. But he still let Mavi prescribe foods for him to help get his diet back on track in the weeks that followed his return to the castle. The elf girl was young and spry, and Mavi didn't think she'd give him anything more than a strange stare if he ever had the courage to go off and ask her about her _feelings_.

King Ezran, comparatively, was a wealth of information—mostly, it seemed, because how terrible and 'messed up' (in Callum's words) the whole hellish month had been was still in the process of catching up to him. He'd usually talk about his adventures with a slight smile, like how Rayla had impersonated a human before going into a village... only to falter when revealing why they had to do so, because he'd dived and nearly died in dark, icy water trying to retrieve the dragon egg. How fun and relieving the flight to Xadia had been on Phoe-Phoe for his face to be drawn tight when recounting how he'd thought, for a terrible second, that the bird had died. He didn't talk about his father at all outside of _before_ the assassination point blank, even though he slept in Harrow's room, even though he sat on Harrow's throne.

(Quietly, Mavi pulled Opeli aside and recommended a grief counsellor in town, and he watched the cleric and Corvus walk the young king across the courtyard to go to his appointment every Saturday from there on out.)

Prince Callum didn't give details, and Prince Callum didn't smile, but Mavi pieced together enough. That he'd stayed by Rayla's side even once Ezran had turned around and gone home. That he'd done Dark Magic. That the two had spent 24/7 together, quite literally, for the past month. That the only time either of them had been _seriously_ hurt, or come scarily close to dying, had been when they were apart.

That Mavi hadn't seen them be apart for more than maybe fifteen minutes since they'd been at the castle, which Ezran had confirmed, and so Mavi had a hunch.

He brought it up to Opeli, who knew the schedules of everyone in the castle better than anyone, especially now that she'd become a cleric, advisor, and babysitter in equal measure to a little boy and three rambunctious teens.

"It is true that they often go off together," Opeli confirmed. "But that's rather typical of young love, don't you think?"

"Yes," Mavi had agreed haltingly. "I suppose so."

Still, his suspicions wouldn't leave him alone, and so one day less than a month into everyone's stay at the castle, Mavi tracked Prince Callum (and Rayla, and King Ezran) down in the hallway. "Prince Callum," he greeted brightly. "I was hoping to speak with you privately?"

"Oh, erm." The prince glanced away uncomfortably. "Are you sure we can't do it here? With, uh," Rayla squeezed his hand and he eased. "With Rayla and Ez?"

Ezran frowned. "I'm not sure I have time for a medical discussion," he said. He had kingly duties to attend to.

Callum didn't look too bothered. "Just Rayla can stay, then, it's okay. We'll catch up with you later Ez."

Mavi cleared his throat. "It really is a matter that just the two of us should discuss, Your Highness." Then a fib, bad enough to make the boy grow red. "It is about your childhood bowel patterns and how re-exposure to Katolian food, now that Xadian goods have been taken out of your diet, may cause dia—"

"Yes, okay!" Callum blurted out. "I'll come—alone. Um." He struggled to slip his fingers out of Rayla's, hesitating. She grabbed his arm instead.

"I'll just be in the throne room with Ez," she promised, kissing him on the cheek before she left, equally unhappily, with the young king.

Mavi watched Callum watch her leave, and practically had his suspicions confirmed right then and there. Infatuated, young love between two devoted teenagers was one thing.

 _Anxiety_ about being away from your partner was another.

Mavi held his arm out towards the tower. "Right this way, Prince Callum."

The boy reluctantly followed as the physician led him to the tower, up the winding staircase. Mavi had him walk up first, not only because that was customary behaviour for a servant and a royal and Callum knew where he was going, but Mavi wanted to observe him too. Short but fast steps, Callum's head whipping towards windows that looked out onto the courtyard whenever they passed one, his fingers fidgeting at his sides. He didn't stop fidgeting, fingers moving to the ends of his scarf once he sat down in a wooden chair in the oval shaped physician's office and Mavi shut the door.

Sunlight streamed in through the one, half moon shaped window, making the phials of potions on the opposite wall glisten, but Mavi dragged a chair out from beside the medical bed and took a seat across from his unknowing patient.

"Prince Callum," Mavi began, "I did not actually call you here for the reasons I spoke of in the courtyard, but please hear me out."

Callum reddened, but nodded, looking a little relieved. "Oh thank the gods—I mean, uh. Sure." His eyes narrowed quizzically. "What did you call me here for then? Is it bad?"

"No," Mavi said. "Not strictly speaking bad. In fact, it is so normal it has taken since your return for me to notice." He stood up and went to the puny kitchen area he had, a stove that doubled for potion brewing as much as it did for cooking, and put on the kettle. "Would you like tea, Your Highness?"

Callum eyed the burnt leftover sludge from boiled over cauldrons that was caked one thin side of the stove. "Uh... maybe later."

Mavi put extra water in anyway. The young prince may want something to drink once he'd heard the news. He let the kettle onto boil before sitting down again. "I noticed upon your return," Mavi said, "that you and Lady Rayla were very close." Callum's fingers tightened, twisting in his scarf at the mention of her name—more anxious, perhaps, from the reminder—even as his shoulders eased. Talking about her seemed to be an immediate calming affect, too. "Joined at the hip," Mavi continued. "As one says. Even sharing a room."

"Oh!" Callum coughed. "Doctor Mavi it's really not like that—like _at all_ —we do _not_ need birth contr—"

"That is not where this is headed." Then, just to have a tiny bit of fun, "Should it be?"

"No!" The boy looked seconds away from turtling into his scarf with only shiny red ears showing, so Mavi eased up. "Please no."

"That is what I thought," he conceded and Callum's expression calmed. "I apologize my prince, I should not tease you. I admit, I am stalling a little, because what I have to tell you—or rather, what I think you should know—will not be pleasant to hear."

Callum nodded cautiously. "Okay...?"

Mavi steepled his knobbly fingers together. "I think you and Lady Rayla are veering into having codependent aspects in your relationship, and that is why you, at the very least if not both of you, are currently experiencing separation anxiety."

Callum's face went blank, apparently shocked, before his eyes hardened. "What? Rayla and I aren't _codependent_ , we're—we're _healthy_ and _fine_ —"

Mavi held up his hand. "I did not say you were unhealthy," he clarified, patient. "But all relationships, no matter how healthy, can have unhealthy aspects from time to time. It does not mean that one is failing at their relationship, simply that they need to identify those aspects and work through them whether individuall or together. And I said _veering_. Tell me, Prince Callum, do you feel totally relaxed right now, being away from her? Or are you worried that something may go wrong as a result of your separation?"

"I..." Callum cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest, frowning. "But Ezran and Rayla are the most important people in the world to meet, and I didn't feel that way about Ezran at all, and until he went back home to be king, we'd been together our whole lives."

"Yes," said Mavi. "And no. You and Ezran formed your brotherly relationship under normal, peaceful, circumstances. You were used to spending days apart and eating dinner together in the evenings. And when Ezran went back home, he was escorted by Corvus, and no incidents really occurred that caused immense physical harm. That, and you were able to tunnel vision and focus on your mission and be distracted by Xadia. There was no time for your brain to _process_ with everything going on. The young king has told me of some of the scarier moments of his journey with you—under the ice, where you were there but felt helpless—and at the Final Battle with the dark mages. In both instances, someone else ultimately stepped in to save him in some way, correct? Rayla and Soren. Others you've grown an awareness of reliability with, in addition to Ezran becoming more capable and grown up?"

"I mean," Callum said slowly, "I... guess so?" He unfolded a bit when Mavi got up to make the tea and handed him a cup, the physician taking a sip of his own. "Like, it's still scary," Callum said, "and I missed him a lot in Xadia and I did worry, but..." He sighed, pursing his lips. "I guess you're right."

Now sensing that his defences were down, Mavi made his voice turn gentler still. "But, once you and Rayla met, you were never _willingly_ separated except at the Final Battle. You have been together 24/7, especially in Xadia. From what I've gathered is that throughout most of your journey, you two were dependent on one another to keep each other alive. You were the one taking responsibility for her life onto your shoulders, correct? With the dragon, and Sol Regem, and at the Pinnacle. You were the one who had to save her because there was no one else who could. And those instances of real danger happened when you had to let her out of your sight. Especially at the Pinnacle."

Callum closed his eyes and scrubbed at his face. "Yeah, and that's led to nightmares and that sucks, but that's why we share a room, it's..."

"Missing your partner and wanting to be close to them is perfectly normal," said Mavi, leaning forwards and getting Callum to look him in the eye. "But feeling real anxiety when you're away from them is not. Nor will it help the two of you in the long run. It is good to be independent. A relationship is _two_ individuals, after all, bound together by _choice_."

Callum looked miserable now, but a glint of determination entered his eyes. "I _do_ feel anxious," he admitted. "And she had to save me a lot too, it... it was scary for her too. So... what do we do about it _now_?"

"To start, we need to bring her into the medical loop," Mavi said with a slight smile. "Ether you can tell her yourself, or we can tell her together."

"I think together would be best."

"We can set an appointment, then."

"And..." Callum gripped the edges of his chair. "Then what?"

"Then we can take measured steps for you to spend more time apart. That's not to say you have to go whole days without seeing each other," Mavi said quickly. "And we would want to start small. For example, I see she spars with Soren in the courtyard some mornings. What if, instead of sitting there and sketching, you spent the morning with your brother?"

Mavi could practically see the way the boy's stomach lurched at the thought of leaving Rayla alone some place with sharp swords swinging around, in spite of her skillset. "Yeah," Callum said weakly. "We could."

"Or, to start smaller," Mavi suggested, "you could eat lunch at a different time, and build things up from there?"

Callum brightened a little. "That sounds good. I... I want us to have a good, strong relationship, y'know?"

Mavi smiled. "I know," he said. "Which is why at first I wasn't sure if it was young love, or something more serious." His eyes crinkled over his half-moon glasses. "I can see now it is all three, and also why I wanted to bring this to your attention. It can be tempting to treat love as something that must be a mighty ocean at all times," he said. "To give it all of our time and devotion. But once the storms clear, sometimes a gentle kiss—a gentle nudge—can be all that's needed, too. Wisdom and stability comes from learning when each one is needed. I trust you and Lady Rayla will figure it out in time."

"Thank you, Doctor Mavi," Callum said, smiling gratefully.

He smiled back at him. "You can go back to her, now, if you'd like. That was all I wanted to speak to you with. And we'll set the appointment for tomorrow at half past noon, to get her up to speed?"

Callum stood up. "Yeah. I know we're both free then... which is something we will also be working on, I guess."

"Not a problem, Your Highness. I am happy to be of service. And give Lady Rayla my well wishes."

Callum cracked a smile. "Oh, you've already given her plenty of fodder to mess with me from that bowel comment, I'm sure. Thanks for that."

Mavi's eyes twinkled. "Even old physicians have to have a little fun sometimes, Your Highness."

Callum shook his head and chuckled. "Have a good day, doctor."

"You too, Prince Callum."

He watched the boy walk down the tower steps until he rounded the curve, going one step at a time, and perhaps—just perhaps—walking a little more slowly than strictly necessary, as though already testing things out.

Mavi spent the rest of the day wondering what sort of tea Moonshadow elves preferred (because _yes_ , the two kids would be just fine).


End file.
